Thursday, October 16, 2008
Snail Chain ©Creative Commons BY-NC-ND, Eric Heupel 2008
One small section of a BUNCH of Lymnia sp. snail eggs pulled from our fresh water aquarium. They like to lay their egg clutches on the underside of larger broad leaved aquatic plants.
These snails are reproductive powerhouses! Not only are they simultaneous hermaphrodites which practice sperm sequestration and/or self fertilization, but they reach reproductive maturity and begin egg laying only a month after hatching or “eclosion.” Combine that with the 20-40 eggs per clutch they lay, and one can see how they can quickly grow the population.
Lymnaea sp. snail eggs ©Creative Commons BY-NC-ND, Eric Heupel 2008
This shot was lit by the microscopes flourescent base light from below and a pair of remote flashes from above, giving pretty good definition to the individual eggs and inside the invisible gelatinous mass. The following shot was with the base CFL illuminator only.
Did I mention they were prolific breeders? Every six months to a year we break down one of our two freshwater aquariums and rebuid it. The last time we made sure there are no eggs on the plants. After a full month of no snails we introduced one small adult snail. Two months later there were nover 50 snails in the tank. This time no adult snails. We have a single egg mass with 13 eggs in it. We’ll see how far we let those go.
As long as I’m not subjected to further displays of their extreme hermaphroditic proscuousity!
PZ Myers has a great post realted to these snails that shows the early development of the Lymnaea zygote, especially focussed on the 3rd division from four cells to eight, which begins the pattern of molluscan spiral cleavage. The details of that division have profound effects on the organism, including whether they are sinestral or dextral.
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Mollusca
- Class
- Gastropoda
- Order
- Pulmonata
- Family
- Lymnaeidae
- Genus
- Lymnaeas
Tags: mollusk, mollusc, gastropod, lifephotomeme
This was from a few years ago, but it relates to today as well. It is a late instar monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) about 10 of which Johann raised as a summer project. The hardest part was finding their food. The caterpillars eat milkweeds, which, being weeds, most people get rid of. We found it only in two locations in all of the general Mystic area – a cemetery and behind one of the old factories.
Ever hear of a book called Miss Rumphius
? A lady who traveled he world, then came home to Maine and sowed lupine seeds all over the countryside as she took her daily walks. Well, we are seeding all the semi-wild spots we can find with a mix of native flowers (many of which are considered weeds) essential to local insect and bird populations, including native milkweeds.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Macrolepidoptera
Family: Danaidae
Genus: Danaus
Species: Danaus plexippus
Or if you prefer..,
“We’re watching you!!”
or maybe “Let your conscience be your guide….but screw up and it’s an invert in your ear!”
With a flash and all three of my extension tubes (68mm) on the 100mm macro lens, I was able to get this shot. It took 6 shots to get this one, each one nudging the focus a hair forward from what I thought was close but maybe to far back (it was). I think this one is on focus best. Next time it’ll be a tripod and flash, higher ISO and more depth of field.
Rotated in Lightroom. Can anyone provide an ID?
Today was a good day. Some time in the garden with Tammy and Johann, a nap while Johann played the drums and then homemade pizza and some family time after dinner. Even got a few photographs in the garden, including a couple of “keepers”, like this one.
A good day.
Green ?
Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.
It’s been awhile since I did much photography. A bit here and there but not enough, and I haven’t posted much either. Family, work and school keep me too busy. (Mostly school and work) but I am resolved to make sure to enjoy life more than these last two semesters have allowed me to. So I am going to start dyeing (Shibori and indigo) again and more getting out there for photography and posting at flickr again, even if “out there” is only in the backyard. But then that is where I found my image for the Life Photo Meme…on more than one level. (Thanks Dorid!)
This little critter, is unknown to me. Looks almost like it would be a juvenile stage of a grasshopper, but somehow I don’t think so. Pretty bad for someone who helps run a blog about invertebrates, yes? But then I am mostly into marine invertebrates. Anyways…
He was found in the hydrangea bush in our new garden… one that I hope to spend more time enjoying this year… especially the basil and macro photography opportunities.
If anyone can ID this critter, please feel free to leave a coment.
